After wins in four of its last five games, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team (11-15-2 WCHA, 16-16-2 overall) is heading into its WCHA playoff series at No. 9 Denver this weekend playing at its best hockey of the season.
“Our performance has shown that and there’s no better time to play your best hockey,” freshman defenseman Jake McCabe said. “This is what we’ve been working for all year.”
After earning just one win in their first five road series this season, the Badgers have won three of their last four away from Madison, including a dominating 4-1 win over No. 5 Minnesota last Friday.
“Not only are we saying that now, but people around watching who have seen us in the beginning, seen us in the end, have said there’s a resounding difference,” head coach Mike Eaves said about his team’s recent top-level performance.
Heading into the opening round of the WCHA playoffs, Wisconsin could not have picked a better time to start winning games on the road, especially facing one of the most dominant home teams in the country.
The Pioneers (16-8-4, 21-11-4) earned a 12-5-2 record at home this season while averaging 3.47 goals per game, good for eighth best in the nation. Junior forward Drew Shore has paced Denver this season, scoring a team-high 21 goals and 47 points.
The Badgers and Pioneers split their series earlier this year at the Kohl Center, but UW’s 5-2 win that weekend may have marked the turning point in their season.
Wisconsin had lost five straight games, including getting swept on back-to-back weekends, but knocking off Denver at home sparked a season-high four game win streak.
“There’s been signs of that all season,” junior forward Ryan Little said about his team turning the corner. “I think that Denver weekend we finally put together a pretty solid weekend.”
Not only did that victory put Wisconsin on the right path heading into the postseason, it also allowed the coaching staff to key in on certain matchups heading into this weekend’s series.
“The execution of our special teams, the play of your goaltender, and the little subtle adjustments that each team is able to make… that’s the unknown factors that we have to deal with,” Eaves said.
One of the biggest factors working against the Badgers this weekend is a lack of playoff experience. Wisconsin has nine freshmen on its roster who will be getting their first taste of playoff action this weekend, while those who played for Wisconsin last season met a swift exit at the hands of Colorado College.
But while experience may be lacking, the Badgers should be ready for a “do or die” scenario, as they have been in a similar situation for the last several weeks.
“Its been playoff time a long time for us,” Eaves said. “We’re fighting for our lives in terms of the RPI, trying to gain ground there so that we keep our hopes alive, so nothing really changes.”
